The Dot
1.4.2
Narrator 1 Vashti
Narrator 2 Teacher Boy
Narrator 1: Art class was over, but Vashti sat glued to her chair. Her paper was empty. Vashti’s teacher leaned over the blank paper.
Teacher: Ah! A polar bear in a snowstorm.
Vashti: Very funny! I just CAN’T draw!
Teacher: Just make a mark and see where it takes you.
Narrator 2: Vashti grabbed a marker and gave the paper a good strong jab.
Vashti: There!
Narrator 1: Her teacher picked up the paper and studied it carefully.
Teacher: Hmmmmm.
Narrator 1: She pushed the paper toward Vashti.
Teacher: Now sign it.
Vashti: Well, maybe I can’t draw, but I CAN sign my name.
Narrator 2: The next week, when Vashti walked into art class, she was surprised to see what was hanging above her teacher’s desk.
It was the little dot she had drawn-HER DOT! All framed in swirly gold!
Vashti: Hmmph! I can make a better dot than THAT!
Narrator 2: She opened her never-before-used set of watercolors and set to work. Vashti painted and painted.
Narrator 1: A red dot.
A purple dot.
A yellow dot.
A blue dot.
Narrator 2: The blue mixed with the yellow. She discovered that she could make a GREEN dot. Vashti kept experimenting. Lots of little dots in many colors.
Vashti: If I can make little dots, I can make BIG dots too.
Narrator 2: Vashti splashed her colors with a bigger brush on bigger paper to make bigger dots. Vashti even made a dot by NOT painting a dot.
Narrator 1: At the school art show a few weeks later, Vashti’s many dots made quite a splash. Vashti noticed a little boy gazing up at her.
Boy: You’re a really great artist. I wish I could draw.
Vashti: I bet you can.
Boy: ME? No, not me. I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler.
Narrator 1: Vashti smiled.
Narrator 2: She handed the boy a blank sheet of paper.
Vashti: Show me.
Narrator 2: The boy’s pencil shook as he drew his line. Vashti stared at the boy’s squiggle.
Vashti: Sign it.
Susan Davidson / Thompson